This is Terminally Online: PC Gamer's very own MMO column. Every other week, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the genre, interviewing fellow MMO-heads like me, taking a deep-dive into mechanics we've all taken for granted, and, occasionally, bringing in guest writers to talk about their MMO of choice.
One interesting trend of the MMO genre is its slow drift towards a seasonal structure. Final Fantasy 14's getting properly-named seasons with Evercold, World of Warcraft's got its Mythic+ and Delve seasons, The Elder Scrolls Online's gotten them, and so on.
And there are plenty of advantages to this. Borrowed power grinds that span an entire expansion are obnoxious, and were thoroughly trashed back in Shadowlands: It doesn't feel great to fall behind on the treadmill, and having a routine reset to put everyone back on a level playing field is smart.
It also means that there's an easy excuse to come back. I, for one, don't play World of Warcraft full-time (I have too many games to keep up with, alas) but I will always come back and sink a few dozen hours into every major patch. MMOs that've adopted this model also tend to have fewer content droughts, the death knell of any game that requires (or encourages) you to pump out a monthly subscription.
But there are plenty of downsides. WoW's been struggling with its seasonal cadence lately, bogged down by bugs and balancing issues. There's also the seasonal weariness, too—unlike a sandbox MMO, these seasonal games don't offer much in the way of permanent progression.
If you get your BIS, it'll be replaced 3-4 months later. If you miss a reward, it'll likely be gone or harder to get as things are depreciated.
Most of all, seasonal zones drop off pretty quickly. Studios put all this work into an area that'll only stay relevant to the expansion in question for… well, a season. And while most of these games'll let you come back and still play through their storylines or snag the gear attached to them, there's precious little reason to do so for the gear-motivated.
More to the point, doing so makes you fall behind the current seasonal grind, kicking your can further down the road.
Contrast this to other ways of building MMOs: "Sandbox" games (air-quoted here because I might be stretching that definition here) like Old School RuneScape, EVE online, or Project Gorgon are all less concerned with some seasonal play metric and more concerned with offering you a broad ocean with things to do.
And more to the point, your progress is more permanent. No resets, no moving the gear goalposts—you can set your own objectives, and your progress'll still be there when you come back to them.
Others, like Guild Wars 2, take a more hybrid approach, still offering big zones in major patches, but keeping all progression horizontal so there's no real reason to do the new stuff aside from the fact it's, well, newer.
Which makes me curious: You, my smart, tasteful, and dare I say sensual Terminally Online reader. What's your preference? Do you think the seasonal treadmill's a nice concession between your limited personal time—or is it a pressure cooker that you're growing weary with? You can either give your hot take in the comments, or fill out this handy poll I've made just for you.
